Friends hope to set Guinness World Record for driving 500 miles in toy car across Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. - A Guinness World Record is being attempted in Florida. Two women from Tampa are traveling the coastline on nothing but battery power.

Cassie Aran and Lauren Lee, both 29, are aiming to set the Guinness World Record for driving 500 miles in a toy car.

"We can go 11 miles on a charge, and they also go 11 miles an hour," Aran said.

The best friends are braving the elements in compact convertibles, traveling from Jacksonville to Key West. Their atypical road trip is estimated to last around two months.

Aran and Lee are avoiding highways and busy roads by sticking to sidewalks and bicycle lanes.

"We pick the safest route we could," Lee said. "It took us over a week in a real car to figure out the exact route we were allowed to take for this and submit it to Guinness World Records and have it approved."

The pair have encountered a few bumps in the road – literal and otherwise! A battery mishap set them back. Aran and Lee had to order new cars and begin their world record attempt again. Wear and tear on the kids’ toys is also proving to be an issue.

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"This is the tire that’s been having the most issues so far," Lee said. "The bearings are not made for the weight that we are carrying between us and everything we need on the road for two months."

So, what does one pack for a road trip with extremely limited cargo space?

"We pack headlamps, sunscreen, umbrellas, extra clothes for rain, and comfy clothes for the hotel at the end of long days," Lee said.

There is one bag more important than the rest though, said Aran. It holds the logbook – a requirement set by Guinness.

"Every day, we have to take a picture of every single stop we stop at. We need receipts any time we buy anything," Aran said. "Even if we just pull over at a gas station to go to the bathroom… it has to have a picture."

They are also required to carry a GPS tracker. It corroborates the coordinates, distance traveled, speed, and time in operation. An official witness also rides "shotgun." If Aran or Lee skip a step, or lapse on documentation, their world record attempt will be scrubbed. All their hard work isn’t just for laughs. They are also raising money to save animals.

"We’ve raised almost 3,000 dollars so far, which is awesome," Aran said.The goal in their pint-sized Porsche look-alikes is to raise $10,000. To contribute, visit The Ear Socks website. Their fundraising efforts and adventures along the way are all documented on Aran’s social media accounts. You can follow along on TikTok here, and on Instagram here.

One of the questions they get asked most is why they don’t modify the cars for speed or battery life. According to Aran and Lee, per Guinness, the cars must remain stock. So, if you see Aran and Lee on their statewide trip, be sure to give them a friendly honk or wave!

"One of my favorite parts is just seeing the joy and the excitement this brings other people," Lee said.